froodle | Reading

Not later; not tonight; RIGHT NOW. Pick up the phone and dial the switchboard if you don’t know their office’s direct number:

(202) 224-3121

Tell your Republican Senator or Senators that you demand they vote AGAINST the Big Ugly Bill that transfers wealth to the billionaire class at a scale not seen in decades if ever, and balloons the national debt to levels never imagined.

They’re still going through amendments. There is still time, if you call RIGHT. NOW.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

pushkin666

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: hot
Current Location: on my Chandler/Joey chair

smallhobbit

Week 4 had a creative theme, so I wrote a tanka:

Counting garden birds
Filling up the water bowls
Walking through the woods
Small steps to gentle progress
Building a lifetime's habit

And I downloaded a knitting pattern from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, to knit a bittern - a 'knittern' for making later.

In addition, I downloaded 14 spotter sheets for use during different seasons (and therefore encouraging me to go out), plus masks and colouring sheets for our after school club.

Finally, I made a bumblebee felt craft brooch from a kit I'd myself a while ago.

Looking back on the 30 Days Wild challenge, it's been fun and hopefully will encourage me to do more - I always feel it would be a good idea, but finding the necessary motivation is important. I've become a member of the British Trust for Ornithology (it's not very expensive) and have submitted two weeks' worth of garden bird sightings. And I'm currently watching the house martins flying around catching flies.

devilc

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

badly_knitted

Title: Infected
Fandom: BtVS
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Buffy, Giles, Scoobies, Angel.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1112
Spoilers: Earshot.
Summary: Slaying a demon leaves Buffy with an exciting new power that ends up being more of a curse.
Written For: Prompt 180 – Eavesdropping at

fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BTVS, or the characters.

( Infected... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

badly_knitted

Title: Another Fine Mess
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Team.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 667
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Ianto hadn’t been gone long, but the team had still managed to cause chaos.
Written For:

templefugate’s prompt ‘Any, any, “You've gotta be kidding me!”’, at

threesentenceficathon.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.

( Another Fine Mess... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

spikedluv

I didn’t have to be to mom’s until 9am this morning, so I was able to get some chores done before I left: I dried and folded yesterday’s load of laundry, washed another load and got it in the dryer, did some hand-washing of dishes, baked chicken for the dogs’ meals, paid some bills online, swept the hallway, laundry area and kitchen, returned another book to the library, and scooped kitty litter.

I had scheduled it so I would be relieved at ~3pm so I could actually make supper, so when I got home I did more dishes, emptied the dishwasher, made supper, did even more dishes, shaved, tossed a load of bath towels into the washer and remembered to also put them in the dryer.

I finished Fugitive Telemetry and started the next Duncan Kincaid book, and watched the current ep of Resident Alien.

Temps started out at 61.5(F) and reached 78.2 (that I saw at 3:30pm), but 85 according to Pip. It was cool in the morning, but sunny with a nice breeze in the afternoon.

Mom Update:

Mom was tired today. ( more back here )

conuly

( Season finale spoiler )

During the Christmas episode we saw the firm's acapella group, which might have just been an excuse to highlight one character's amazing singing voice. Anyway, they were singing White Winter Hymnal, and I'm going to just post two quick videos, the original version and a different acapella cover:

Watch on YouTube

(Those lyrics can't be entirely right - surely the pack is swaddled in their coats, not swallowed?)

Anyway, you'll notice that in the first one they weirdly pronounce "the" with a "long e" (the vowel in pee) before the words "white snow". Does that strike anybody else as a weird place to do that?

conuly

I was looking up fictional law firm names and you know how Angel has the evil law firm Wolfram and Hart? Apparently NCIS has Wolfram, Hart and Donowitz. No word on if they're evil. Are they evil?

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( Read more... )

tielan

I made foccacia. It was good.

We also drew our hockey game on Sunday! 1-1!

(We won for the first time a couple of weeks back and it was Very Good.)

( hockey report )

I've spoken about how this is a tricksy year for hockey in a post earlier this year. But I am enjoying some of the games, even when we're getting beaten. And we are improving.

But it can still be frustrating to see players who aren't ready for this grade (and aren't improving) struggle in the face of it.

badfalcon

I’ve blogged for basically my entire adult life.

LiveJournal, Tumblr, WordPress, here. There’s something about having a corner of the internet that’s mine - a space that isn’t a feed, isn’t an algorithm, isn’t speeding past at a thousand miles an hour. I miss that.

Lately, I’ve mostly been posting on Tumblr about tennis. And I love talking about tennis, but it’s started to feel like that’s all I do.

I go to work, I watch matches, I read. Sometimes I write. Sometimes I stare at the same three WIPs and hope they move. I’ve been telling myself that doesn’t leave me with much to say. But maybe that’s not true. Or maybe it doesn’t matter.

So: I’m coming back to Dreamwidth. I want this to be a quieter space. A bit rambly. A bit nostalgic. More fandom and life and writing and less “keeping up.”

I’m really hoping the new sunshine_revival community will help with that too - it feels exciting, like something gentle and welcoming is starting to grow again. I’m looking forward to seeing what the prompts will be.

I also need to figure out commenting again. I overthink it. I draft something and delete it and worry it sounds weird or too much or not enough. But I want to try. I miss the part where we actually talked to each other.

What you’ll probably find here:

snippets from whatever fic I’m poking at (shifter AU, packfic, omegaverse feelings, etc)
trope talk and character rambling
soft lifestyle things: what’s comforting me lately, little rituals, sensory joys
maybe playlists or screenshot dumps or prompt games
and the occasional “three things that got me through this week” kind of post

I’m aiming for 2–3 posts a week for now. Nothing fancy, just enough to make this feel like a living space again. If you’re here: hi. I’m glad you are.

Here’s to slow internet, quiet posting, and the kind of connection that doesn’t need to be loud to be real.

quippe

The Blurb On The Back:

At the age of 41, Rich Waters received a diagnosis that sent shockwaves through his world: early-onset Parkinson’s disease. But fate had more in store for him; shortly after this revelation, he learned that his daughter was also grappling with a degenerative condition.

Cold water swimming on the Isle of Skye, became his lifeline - a radical wellspring of fulfilment and resilience. Plunging into the frigid depths, Rich found a strong connection with the natural world. The sensation of icy water on his kin mirrored the challenges he faced in his life, and each swim taught a crucial lesson of personal survival.

Guided by Matt Rhodes, known as ‘the viking of Skye’, Rich discovered that the biting cold, the relentless waves and the untamed currents were more than just physical challenges: they were a metaphor for the unpredictability of life itself. In those waters, he learnt to surrender control, to accept the ebb and flow of existence, and to find beauty in the chaos.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Richard Waters is an award-winning travel and sports writer. This very personal book is part memoir, part self-help guidance that looks at how cold water swimming and a stoic attitude helped him to come to terms with two life-changing events. Unfortunately it lacks the self-reflectiveness and raw honesty to succeed as a memoir and lacks the general life advice to work as self-help, which is a shame as the descriptions of nature are excellent.

SWIMMING WITH THE VIKING OF SKYE was released in the United Kingdom on 27 February 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

badly_knitted

Title: Imposing
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Jack O’Neill, Daniel Jackson, SG-1.
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Setting: Nada.
Summary: Ancient ruins are always impressive in their way, but this one is a bit overwhelming
Written For: Challenge 472: Sign at

fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Stargate SG-1, or the characters.
A/N: Triple drabble.

( Imposing... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

badly_knitted

Title: Unplanned Purchase
Fandom: FAKE
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Dee.
Rating: G
Written For: Challenge 456: Flower at

drabble_zone.
Setting: Nada.
Summary: Dee never buys flowers for himself. Right?
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Double drabble.

( Unplanned Purchase... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

badly_knitted

Title: Emergency Treatment
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 871: Gasp at

torchwood100.
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Poor Ianto isn’t having a good day.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble.

( Emergency Treatment... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

smallhobbit

7 books read this month, so 38 for the year and I'm on target!

A Frightfully Fatal Affair by Hannah Hendy
I normally listen to these on audiobook, but for a change I borrowed it from the library. The next in the Dinner Lady Detectives series. Entertaining, slightly implausible, but the two dinner ladies are appealing characters, so I enjoyed reading it.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
A look at how Mr Rochester might have found his 'mad' wife in Jane Eyre. Worth reading, but I didn't feel for Antoinette (Bertha) as I had expected to.

The Dead Witness edited by Michael Sims
A collection of short detection stories for the nineteenth century. Very few of the stories appealed, and I was left grateful for Sherlock Holmes!

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
The next Murderbot story, which was fun and continued to prove that Murderbot was far better equipped to deal with most things than anyone else.

The Rose Apple Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu
The next in the Su Lin series (which was the Crown Colony series, although the name is no longer accurate), this one is set not in Singapore but in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. As always, it's an interesting look at the region in 1947 and I enjoyed the mystery. I had guessed part of it, but I imagine the reader was supposed to have their suspicions.

Cyanide in the Sun edited by Martin Edwards
Another of the British Library Crime Classics short story collections. Not as good as previous books, it may be that the pool of such stories is being drained.

CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour edited by Martin Edwards
Another short story collection, but this time modern short stories. I enjoyed the majority - in any collection there are going to be some which I don't like, for various reasons, but it was a good batch.

Also, I had a go at the Goodreads Seasonal Challenge for May and June and achieved 5 of the 7 categories:

And here is my book bingo card - I may even finish it next month!

angrboda

So I was keeping an eye on the new super-mouse for when it would be in stock. It was estimated to be in stock by the 30th, but that date has been moving around quite a bit, so I was checking it daily.

Two days ago, it was in stock. They had 25 of them. I ordered one immediately. (Parcel tracking info says I can expect it tomorrow.)

Because I was curious, I checked it again today. All gone. Not just 'out of stock, expecting more at this date' gone. It's gone!

Good thing I jumped on it as soon as I had the opportunity, because clearly it wasn't just me.

In other quite closely related news, the new computer is ready for me to move into, except for the tiny detail of my monitor being old and it turned out that an adapter was necessary because the cables are obsolete. Luckily Husband was able to source one as click and collect which he has just gone to pick up, and it's a very cheap item as well. Delayed the process by a few hours, though.

I do have plans to upgrade the monitor as well, but I don't want to do so yet. Come winter when we will likely begin the process of redecorating my room, there is also going to be some changes to the furniture, which means I might have room for a 2 monitor situation. I see little need to start replacing it until we know whether this is in fact the case, because the only thing wrong with the current one is a tendency to sometimes turn itself off completely instead of remaining on standby. This is mysterious and slightly inconvenient, but hardly a huge problem. Especially considering it's been in daily use for 15 years.

spikedluv

Another long day. Hopefully the final one. Today was Ian’s graduation party. Thankfully I did not have to be to mom’s as early as I feared so sister A could leave to get set up for the party. She said I could get there between 9 – 10am, so I split the difference and got there at 9:30am. Then I took mom to the party. Sister S relieved me at 7:30pm.

I did manage to get stuff done before I left the house: two loads of laundry (one dried and folded), hand-washed some dishes and did a load in the dishwasher, scooped kitty litter, took the dogs for a short-ish walk, and dropped a book in the library return box on my way to mom’s. I did more hand-washing of dishes when I got home and tossed some laundry into the dryer.

I watched the current ep of Murderbot, finished my book and started another (Fugitive Telemetry, finally). And, of course, attended Ian’s graduation party.

Temps started out at 64.4(F) and reached 87 (according to Pip). He couldn’t have been far off because it got HOT. (It was still 79.2 when I got home after 7:30pm.) My sister had moved Ian’s party from a tent at her house to the local fire house because we were supposed to have scattered thunderstorms all day, but we didn’t get any.

Mom Update:

Mom did well yesterday. ( more back here )

yuuago

+ Went to the Pride festival today. It was nice!

+ Saw some people I knew, had a nice little chat, etc.

+ There were some very good drag performances. Unfortunately I was only able to stay for part 1 of drag, had to leave before part 2, but I'm glad I saw some of it at least.

+ Ended up with a ridiculous sunburn. (Thought I covered everything, but then ya' miss one bit with the sun screen, and y'know.) It's not too bad, but augh.

+ There are two meetups I'm going to in this upcoming week and after that pride month is done. ...And I'm kind of glad, 'cause it was super fun but it was also A Lot.

conuly

The set and costume designers heard about blue-and-orange color schemes and just decided to run with it. I swear, they bought out everything blue in the store. Even the post-its are blue! And what isn't blue or teal is orange, or tan, or gold.

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( Read more... )